In general, a large amount of waste gases are generated in a process of operating a factory such as a steel mill. Such waste gases may contain various harmful substances, moisture, and oil components. The waste gases may flow along a large-scale pipeline connected to a waste gas treating facility to be treated.
Approximately several thousands of valves for discharging condensate may be connected to the large-scale pipeline through which the waste gases flow. The pipeline is bent such that the condensate produced from the waste gases can be gradually discharged from such condensate discharging valves after stagnating in the pipeline. The condensate discharging valves can regulate a rapid pressure change that may occur in the pipeline through which the waste gases flow.
That is, as shown in FIG. 3, each of the condensate discharging valves may be connected to a bottom surface of a large-scale main waste gas pipeline 101 and may be configured such that the condensate discharging valve is bent upward while facing downward and is in turn bent again downward (this configuration refers to an S trap apparatus which is bent twice generally in an S-like shape such that liquid can always stagnate in the apparatus to prevent reverse flow of gases).
The condensate 105 stagnating in the condensate discharging valve 105 serves to interrupt waste gases which may be leaked to the outside when the waste gases passing through the large-scale pipeline are maintained at an appropriate pressure.
There may occur a local increase of a pressure of gases in the process where the waste gases flow along the large-scale pipeline. In this case, the waste gas pushes the condensate stagnating in the condensate discharging valve to be discharged to the outside. The pressure of the pipeline through which the waste gases pass is regulated through such a process.
In this case, when a large amount of waste gases are continuously discharged to the outside through the condensate discharge valve, there may occur a gas explosion accident or a gas poisoning accident.
The condensate may be discharged by a pressure of the waste gases from the condensate discharging valve from which waste gases are leaked, so the waste gases may be continuously leaked, which requires a prompt waste gas leakage interrupting operation.
When waste gases are leaked, the operators check and find out condensate discharging valves in question and properly introduce water or liquid instead of the discharged condensate to interrupt discharge of waste gases. Thus, costs for managing, maintaining, and repairing a plurality of condensate discharging valves provided in the large-scale pipeline increase, which is disadvantageous.